A conventional police baton or billy is a club which is typically about two-feet long and about one to one and one-fourth inch in diameter, and which is usually made of wood, hard rubber, or a plastic material. The baton is gripped at one end, and is used in a sweeping or jabbing motion to fend off an assailant. Police officers are also taught other baton maneuvers which assist in disarming and apprehending a suspect.
A modified baton incorporating a short stationary crosshandle (positioned about six inches from the handgrip end, and extending perpendicularly from the baton) is believed to have been first used by police officers on Okinawa Island in the North Pacific Ocean. It is understood that the crosshandle is there referred to as a "Yawara" handle. One style of a weapon of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 230,150 titled "Police Club or Similar Article".
The modified baton is gripped by the crosshandle which extends upwardly from the baton when swinging the baton in a generally horizontal plane. During this swinging or sweeping motion, the grip of the hand is loosened sufficiently to permit the crosshandle to rotate within the hand. The baton thus achieves significantly greater velocity during a swinging stroke, because the rotational speed is added to the speed of the swinging motion. The crosshandle baton is considered by many police departments to be a more effective defensive weapon than a conventional straight baton, and, with proper training, it can provide real assistance to an officer in a difficult defensive or arrest situation.
A weakness of known crosshandle batons is that considerable training is required to acquire skill in loosening and tightening the grip of the hand to enable the spinning motion, and to brake this motion at the end of a sweeping stroke. The spinning handle also tends to work downwardly out of the officer's hand after a stroke or two, and must be repeatedly regripped during use to insure that the weapon is properly moved and retained. These drawbacks have tended to limit use of the crosshandle baton, and to discourage the investment in training which is required to insure effective and safe use of the weapon.
I have found that these weaknesses in known crosshandle batons are overcome by providing a rotatable sleeve on the crosshandle. The officer's grip on the stationary portion of the handle is relaxed to permit baton spin during a sweeping stroke, but a tight grip is constantly maintained on the rotatable sleeve. The baton achieves a higher spin velocity with the rotatable sleeve, and is easier for the officer to control throughout a swinging stroke. The tendency of the crosshandle to work out of the hand is also overcome by the rotatable sleeve which provides a secure grip and eliminates need for constant regripping during repeated swings of the baton.